Matthew Hale’s Answers

Does WA State RCW 9A.16.020 mean I do not have to wait for a physical strike to be thrown against me before I use self-defense?

WA State RCW 9A.16.020 Use of force—When lawful. 3) Whenever used by a party about to be injured,
Who is to judge that someone is not about to be injured by a headbutt if a person is stepping toward their face within inches and saying mean phra...

Matthew’s Answer

July 26, 2016 6:24pm

Washington State uses the "reasonable person" standard when determining matters such as when the use of force is justified. In other words, would a reasonable person in the same circumstances believe that he was in imminent danger of physical harm or attack. This will depend on the facts of the situation as told by the witnesses who saw what happened. The real answer here is that someone approaching you in an aggressive manner may or may not justify your use of force. How's that for a non-answer? All of these cases boil down to the facts of the specific situation. So really, from a legal standpoint your question cannot be given a black and white answer.

What constitutes malpractice?

I have a current open workers compensation case, however I have reasonable suspension to believe that the doctor that performed my surgery made the issue much worse than it was when my injury first happend.
My doctor performed carpal tunnel rele...

Matthew’s Answer

April 18, 2016 4:03pm

Simply put, a bad result does not equal malpractice. You will need to consult a lawyer, who might be willing to review the medical records. Either way, this should not impact your workers compensation case.

What is the statue of limitation in civil (not criminal ) US federal court ( United States district court ) sex abuse claims

A man who is now 43 was abused when he was 15 and he was in India at the time of abuse and perpetrators as well. But within 5 months of abuse the perpetrators permanently moved to USA and now they are in state of MA and US citizen and victim is in...

Matthew’s Answer

April 18, 2016 4:00pm

The first thing you will want to determine is where the abuse happened. That will answer most of your questions and direct you to where you need to file the law suit, what the statute of limitations will be, and what claims you will want to pursue. For example, did the sex abuse happen in a medical, clergical, or state setting? You will want to discuss this with a competent lawyer.

What Attorney or Attorneys can help me solve these problems

Long story short my mother could do everything herself with very little to no assistance then she had a slip and fall at a hospital where she fell hard on her head arm and shoulder she was given psychiatric & schizophrenia drugs along with narcoti...

Matthew’s Answer

April 18, 2016 3:53pm

No doubt that you want to hire a lawyer to review the medical records for your mother and a lawyer to deal with your own potential criminal defense. But, more importantly, it is unnacceptable that your mother fell int he hospital and injured her head and arm. That in itself is likely a medical malpractice claim that you should consult a lawyer for.

What motion do I file to have the TRO thrown out in its entirety since it was denied? It could affect future job search efforts

My former boyfriend was cheating on me with a woman who was a stranger to me. When I found out, I texted her, which resulted in phone calls, which led to a telephone argument (no threats were made) and then ended (at least I thought it had ended) ...

Matthew’s Answer

April 18, 2016 3:50pm

Since a TRO was not entered against you, then practically speaking it will probably not show up on any background investigations. Anyone who looks at the Court file will see it was not entered against you. You may want to consider just leaving it alone at this point and moving on. Should any question come up, the fact that it was denied is just going to help you.

Can an individual be banned from an organization?

My boyfriend runs an organization that has monthly events. His ex has recently began showing up, she was very abusive to him for many years, and even though she has no part in the organization any more, legally or otherwise, she still lies and say...

Matthew’s Answer

March 24, 2016 4:26pm

Consider getting an anti-harassment order if she is going to the events to harass her ex-boyfriend. She can be restrained physically from him. These are done in the local District Court and they have the information you need to get filing done.

What can my friend do about this situation legally?

Ok so I'm asking this on behalf of a friend who currently doesn't have access to the internet, we will call her Michelle.
Michelle has PTSD, Depression and several other mental disorders. This required her to have a PTSD/Depression assistance ser...

Matthew’s Answer

March 23, 2016 8:51pm

200 reports of abuse sound very suspicious and would lead most to believe that actual abuse of the dog was going on. Your friend is lucky she has not been charged with animal cruelty. She should look to see if there are any specific dog training protocols that she was supposed to follow, etc... This may be helpful in getting the school to understand her situation, if she was not in fact abusing the dog.

Do I have any legal recourse?

Our satellite provider had pornographic channels turned on without our knowledge. They were on for three months , my daughter could have watched these channels without our knowledge , the providers response was far less then expected, is there any...

Matthew’s Answer

March 23, 2016 8:47pm

First, there is nothing proving your daughter may have watched the channels. You can complain to the company and change providers.

What can happen if I don't have the money to pay back a 401(a) back when it wasn't supposed to be paid out? More details below.

I worked for my local county government from 2011 to February of 2016 and they had retirement taken out of each check and put into a 401(a) plan through CCOERA. I moved over to the District Attorney's office who also has a 401(a) CCOERA plan with ...

Matthew’s Answer

March 23, 2016 8:45pm

Selected as best answer

This is going to be covered by the Plan Documents and Contracts governing your retirement account. You may want to consult with the HR department for more information, a financial planner and/or a knowledgeable accountant.